Equinox At Midnight
by PixieMaura
Summary: Situated after New Moon. Bella is happily married to Jacob Black and has a fifteen year old daughter, Ariana. Edward comes back and finds Bella satisfied with her life. Heartbroken, Ariana tries to soothe him. Will she be able to? Will new love develop?
1. Preface

_Hello everybody. I'm PixieMaura and this is really the first time I ever wrote anything that I found worth showing you. This story came to me as a dream, just as Twilight did to Stephenie Meyer. It's placed several years after Edward left. Bella is happily married with Jacob and has a daughter named Ariana. Edward comes back eventually and... You'll see what happens ;) Lots of love and hope you enjoy it! _

_PS: I'll try to make the other chapters still to come longer, but right now I'm still trying to figure out how this thing works, so please be patient and don't throw anything at me!_

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**Preface**

**Bella Black-Swan POV**

Years have passed since Edward left. I had no problem thinking or saying his name now. Instead, I had found new happiness with Jacob a few years after Edward left. A result of our happiness was Ariana, my beautiful fifteen-going-on-sixteen year old daughter who was attending high school. In her first few years, she got bullied, a lot. She came home crying and her self-esteem became so low she eventually stayed in bed wearing ten layers of clothes, as if she could hide in them and nobody would ever find her or bother her again. But one day, she snapped out of it, and she walked to school, proud and chin lifted. No clothes to cover up the scars she cut into her arms one day when she'd gone beyond just being sad.

I'd asked her why she showed them one day, and she answered "Why should I hide something of which I am proud." I didn't get it at first, looking at her in shock of what she had just said. "They show that I had a hard time, that people were so mean that I was forced to do this to myself. I beat them by showing that I'm not afraid to tell everybody what they did to me. They backed off, didn't they?" And she smiled at me. She was right, though, they did back off. She had friends now, people who admired her strength and looked past the weird clothes she wore and the way she was different. When I was in high school, I blended in, didn't cause any trouble and people stayed away. But Ariana wouldn't have that now, not anymore. She wanted to do what she was best at doing; being herself. She walked into school with shoes that lighted up with each step, golden lipstick and green eye shadow, big smile on her face when people stopped and stared. She didn't care anymore. Sure, there were days when she came home and complained about the bitches in her school that just couldn't get over the fact that she wasn't scared of showing anything, but always convinced herself she was better than them in the end.

Our family became a real family after she became confident about herself. Jacob and her grew closer, and she couldn't help but express her excitement when we told her why her dad went to the woods any other day. She shocked both me and my husband when she asked if her dad being a werewolf would explain the voices she heard. Apparently, whenever one of Jacob's pack came near in wolf-form, she could overhear their conversations, their every word. When we asked why she'd never told us, she just shrugged. After that, she sometimes even joined the pack, and they figured out that a bit of the werewolf gene had developed in her. She couldn't phase, but she could talk to their minds, run almost as fast as they could and perform quite an impressive howl.

I was going to pick her up from school today. On a sunny day –which it almost never was- she'd go by bike to Forks High School, but today wasn't one of those. She chose to go to Forks High School after the "depressive" period was over, she wanted to have a fresh start.

She was waiting for me at the lot, waving her friends goodbye and kissing her boyfriend, Jackson, on the cheek before she left. She walked up to the car with a smile, her black, green-streaked hair waving around in her face because of the wind.

As we drove home, she talked about how her day was and how annoying the teachers were and then the subject 'boyfriend' came on.

"And Jackson and I celebrated our anniversary in the local restaurant. I ate more French fries than anybody ever has."

"Anniversary? I didn't know you were together for a month." I said, shocked. For all I knew, Jackson and Ariana had only been together for a few weeks.

"Three week anniversary, his idea. I chose the restaurant part." She smiled up at me and I glanced a second away from the road, seeing as she shook and giggled.

"French fries on an anniversary, I bet that just made your day."

"You betcha." I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"How's Dad?" She asked me after a short silence.

"Business is rolling. He's very busy."

"Did he go wolfy?" She asked. Of course, being our daughter, she knew all the secrets now. She knew everything about the vampires and werewolves, and even joked about it with us. We made her swear that she never told another soul, but we didn't really have to. She is smart when it comes to paranormal stuff, she knows what to do and what would happen if people knew.

"Yes, he did go wolfy a few days ago. Was he close enough?" Whenever her dad or the other werewolves get near enough, she listens closely. She could even think things back to him, but only the things she wants the other to hear. She also has a great deal of persuasiveness in her. She could talk so that you would agree with every word she said, if you just looked at her eyes. Her eyes always, _always_ made people agree with her or made them do what she wanted them to do. She didn't like to use it too much, although she did describe it once as 'Pretty freaking_ awesome'_. My daughter, ladies and gentleman.

"I heard bits and pieces, Seth came to look often." Seth and Ariana have become best friends over the years, since he never wanted to age, the time-difference wasn't an issue.

"Did you get any tests?"

"Yeah, English Literature, it was just waaaay too easy." She said and grinned.

"We'll see what the grades are, and then I'll give my opinion about that." I heard her sigh, mumbling a soft 'Yes, mom.'

After a long drive of senseless talking and gossips, we reached home, and I saw my love, Jacob, working on an old car that looked like it should've belonged in the junkyard ages ago.

He smiled my favorite smile and spread his arms to hug Ariana, who was running towards him full-speed. "How's my girl? Long time, no see." They hugged and he spun her around. She was still daddy's little girl to him. We'd gotten her at a young age, I was barely twenty-five years old. I'd finished college and already had a little job when suddenly morning sickness overtook me every day. I'd finally taken the test and when it came out positive, Jacob and I couldn't have been more glad. Jacob's business and my teaching position at Port Angeles High School gave us the opportunity to provide any and everything for our little baby girl. I'd had to quit my job after giving birth to her because Port Angeles was just too far away, but Jacob's income was enough to provide for all three of us.

"Can I help with anything?" Ari asked. She always asked, but she knew the answer already.

"No, this job is for big, strong, handsome men. Nothing for a pretty little girl, who should already be studying for her exams by now." She huffed and stomped off towards our house, just next to Jake's workshop. I ran, trying to avoid the rain, towards Jacob, stumbling and letting him catch me. He laughed out loud, and I loved the sound.

"You haven't changed a bit since I first saw you." I looked up into his dark eyes, smiling and playfully hitting him.

"I wasn't this wrinkly when I first saw you, Toy Boy." This became my nickname for him since he still looked so much younger than I did.

"True, but beauty comes with age, doesn't it?" he smiled and leaned down to give me a peck on the lips.

And I was perfectly happy. I had a wonderful daughter, a loving husband, and overall, I had a great life. Everything was just going to run perfectly.

I think.


	2. Make Me Cry

Ariana POV

For those who do not know, I am awesome.

Everybody is, but not everybody knows. I do. Kind of.

I got a long way since I got bullied. I've got friends, a nice boyfriend, and some great fashion sense. I am downright amazing.

Ugh, who am I kidding. I sound like some pretentious little bitch giving herself a pep talk. I need pep talks though, after all these years, I still do. But I don't really mind, because honestly, I really have gotten a long way since that horrible stage in my life. The scars on my arms and legs are barely visible anymore, so are the ones on the inside. I feel great. Greater than I've ever felt. I can look at myself in the mirror and not immediately be horrified at the image in front of me. In fact, some days, I even like the view quite a bit. I smiled to myself as I typed my essay on my little Bedazzled laptop. 10 pages about your opinion on same-sex marriages and homosexuality. Easy. I could only smile at the thought of my boyfriend, Jackson, looking at his laptop wondering what the hell he should write now. My phone buzzed several times, indicating someone calling. I flipped it open and couldn't help but laugh. The second I picked up I was greeted with a stressed "Help Me."

"Essay?"

"Psychic." I giggled.

"Let me guess. You want me to help you out?" I teased.

"Please?" Jackson pleaded. I sighed.

"Okay, where are you stuck at, how many pages do you still have to write?"

"Nine and three quarters." My eyes bulged.

"Either you're really slow or you're quoting Harry Potter. I'm guessing not the latter?"

"Both actually, thought it might amuse you." I could hear the smile in his voice, making me smile.

"Well, it worked. If you want I can come over, I'm done already." I looked outside. The harsh rain had turned into a slight drizzle. Jackson lives about five minutes from here, if I run.

"Yeah, um, sure. When can you get here?"

"I'll be there in ten. Bye." He mumbled a quick "See you," and I hung up.

I grab some lighter clothes from my closet, going with a light pair of jeans, a black top and my dad's red button-down shirt, which I stole from him a few months ago. He didn't mind.

After explaining to Mom where I was going, I left for the woods, running full-speed. I loved the way the wind blew in my hair and the sound of dry leaves and little branches breaking underneath my feet. I halted and stood against a wet tree, taking in the scent of the woods. The moss, the rain, the grass, the…

Wait a second… I sniffed again. The wind has changed, it's coming from the general direction from where the Cullen house once was. Vampires. The smell coming from there was always a tad sweet. Delicious. Mouthwatering. But never was it this intense. Maybe the rain enhanced the smell. I shrugged it off and remembered to remind Dad to go and watch someday soon.

I ran again, but walked out of the woods into somebody's garden before arriving at Jackson's house. Boy, would he freak if he saw me coming out of the woods. There were enough reports about wolves and black bears to keep anyone out of it, except me of course. But Jackson wouldn't be all too happy seeing his precious little girlfriend walking out of those dark woods. Overprotective chicken. I recognized his house with the wooden porch and the red door and knocked. A little later, my chicken answered. He opened the door with a smile and a small 'hey'. He invited me to come in and he took my hand to take me upstairs while his parents warned him to keep the door open. I giggled as I came into his room. It was a typical boys room. Messy, kind of smelly, and disorganized… Looks a bit like mine actually. I laughed when I saw his closet door standing ajar, clothes and paper peeking out between the gap.

"Subtle." I pointed, and he blushed. I turned around to meet his face and smiled. He walked over to me and took my hand, pulling me towards the bed with him. I laughed and took his pillow from behind his back, throwing it in his face. Gladly, he wasn't mad, and played along. But I could see some nervousness in his eyes, and he kept on sitting in this weird position, as if he were trying to hide something. I looked around and couldn't help but laugh out loud. There, hiding behind him, was a Playboy. I didn't stop laughing after about three minutes. Tears were in my eyes and I rubbed them away.

"You are such a boy!" He blushed and huffed, taking the pillow away from my hands and covering his little fun magazine.

"Well, now I know why you couldn't concentrate on the essay!"

His eyes bulged. "I wasn't doing that! Can we start with the paper now, please?" I giggled and nodded. He walked over to his laptop and sat on his chair. He didn't have another one so I stood and bended over to read with him until he pulled me down on his lap, making me blush. He was helpless with essays, and I ended up writing most of it. After I was done with the seventh page, I felt something soft tickle my shoulder. I twisted my head around to find out what it was and was met with the sight of Jackson kissing it. I gasped and pulled away, shaking my head. Three more pages to go, can't get distracted now. But Jackson wouldn't stop. Instead of kissing me, the arms that were locked around my middle retreated so that his hands went from my hips, to my waist, moving up front to my…

I stood up before he could even get anywhere close to my chest.

"Jackson!" I turned around, giving him the evil eye. What on earth was he thinking? We were only dating for three weeks!

"I'm sorry, you said yourself that I'm so much of a boy!"

"That don't mean you've got to be groping me just because it's convenient!" I growled, he obviously didn't know how angry I was right now.

His hands shot up. " Calm down, I said I was sorry. But seriously Ari, we've been going like this for three weeks, no kiss or whatever, when are you going to give in and let me actually do something?"

I gasped, offended. "I let you do stuff!"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, hugs and kisses on the cheek. Really, that's all a guy wants, Ari." He said sarcastically.

"I warned you from the second we started dating that I wasn't into that stuff, that it was going to take time."

"With time I thought you meant a few days, maybe a week. C'mon, Ari, don't you want me?" He pleaded.

"Of course I do, just not like that. My hormones aren't in sync with yours remember?" He was a year older than me, he'd want different things in this stage of his life, right?

He huffed. He finally seemed to get it. I just didn't want that stuff yet, and I wasn't one for doing something I didn't want. I sighed and sat sideways on his lap again, throwing my arm around his neck and holding my head to his.

"I'm sorry. That's what you get when you date a younger chick." I joked, trying to lighten up the mood. He looked at me with his blue eyes, and I twisted my fingers around his curly brown hairs. He was handsome. Really handsome. Girls looked at him wherever he walked and he only had to flash a smile at them and he'd get what he wanted. I think he just isn't used to a girl not being completely at his mercy. His hand shot up to stroke my hair away from my eyes, and his hand reached up to stroke my back. I shivered. It felt good. This was new, the whole caressing thing. But it was good. And slightly uncomfortable.

"Sorry I attacked you like that. I won't do it again. Please… just… loosen up a bit, you know? Maybe try and really kiss me once in a while, you know? No pressure, just…" Hah, no pressure. The only thing he did was just put pressure on me. I knew he wanted it, and I knew I wouldn't give it sooner or later. My intuition told me that if I didn't set this right immediately, we'd be going downhill from that moment on.

Kiss him or not kiss him. Make him happy or let him break up with me eventually.

He was already licking his lips and moving closer. Maybe my eyes told him I was conflicted. Maybe he was trying to make his move while he still could. As he moved closer, I still didn't know what to do, but when his lips finally moved too close to bear, I turned my head and shook it.

No boy will ever make me do anything I don't want to.

I heard Jackson sigh as his lips connected with my hair. He lifted me up, off his lap and looked away.

"You should probably go, before I do something stupid." Like trying to kiss me again. I nod and walk out of his bedroom. I don't even bother saying goodbye to his parents and walk out the door. I walk through the same garden as I did before, but I don't go straight home. Instead, I walk through the woods to Jackson's house again. His window is open en points towards the woods so it is easy to see him, but he can't see me. I hide behind a tree, just to be certain, and watch him.

He's angry. Frustrated is more like it, actually. Maybe he's a bit of both. It's my fault. It's my fault that he's pacing back and forth, hitting his closet, kicking the floor and roaming his hands through his hair. It's my fault that he's cursing and grumbling and groaning like a madman. I sighed and turned my eyes away, not wanting to see the damage I've caused anymore. I turn around completely and hang with my back against the cold, wet wood of the tree. As I close my eyes, I feel all different sorts of things. Anger, sadness, frustration, guilt… I almost bring myself to tears thinking about what I'd done. But I swallow back the tears.

No boy will ever make me cry.


	3. Scent

I'd just gotten home through the back door and Mom already sensed something was wrong with me. She was standing in the kitchen -making tonight's lasagna, probably- until she turned around and looked at me with worried eyes. I walked to her and hugged her, just needing the comfort of someone's arms around me. The arms of someone who wouldn't get mad if I didn't want to do something I disliked. Mom wound her arms around me, stroking my back.

"Jackson?"

I nodded. "We got into a fight." Again I held the tears down that threatened to come back. I remembered the promise I'd made to myself a long time ago, '_No boy will ever make me cry'._

Mom held me until I was done feeling sorry for the boy who didn't deserve my tears. I'd liked Jackson, but I'd warned him in the very beginning that if he'd ever push me too far, it won't ever be forgiven. I'll give him one more chance just because, even after what he's done, he's still a nice kid. He liked me, I knew that. Maybe he was just frustrated with me because he sees my friends, Mike Jr. and Dana, together all the time. Kissing and touching and stuff. Maybe he's frustrated because while he thought of that as "hot", I thought of it as gross.

Whatever, I'll see what to do when we meet at school. I released my mother and walked up to my room. I jumped on the bed, burying my face in my pillow groaning. My phone buzzed in my pocket and I checked it. It was Jackson, saying he was sorry but that I was the one to blame for his being unsatisfied and pushy…

I threw my cell phone on my pillow in anger.

"Asshole." I grumbled. Unlike Mom, I swore. A lot. I grabbed my cell phone back to look for any damage, but the pillow softened the hard throw enough to not leave any cracks in the glass of the screen.

I sighed. Knowing that no matter how much I hated him right now, I would never break up with him. Not now, anyway. He's my first boyfriend, and I don't want to ruin my first relationship because of one stupid thing he did. But, oh, what a stupid thing it was.

Tell a boy not to do something a thousand times, they still go with what they want.

Mom was right when she asked me if it was wise to get together with Jackson. She knows my issues. She knew it wasn't going to end well, I suppose. But at that time, I was just overjoyed that I'd found a nice young man that actually liked me.

I thought I liked him back.

When people said they felt butterflies whenever they went near the person they loved, I thought

I just felt them differently. Whenever I came near Jackson, I felt nauseated. Nausea can be mistaken for butterflies, right?

_Oh, who am I kidding?_

_Distraction_, I thought, _I need a distraction._

Of course, nobody's better at distracting me than Seth. I grabbed my phone and called him, smiling when he answered after the first ring.

"How's my favorite person?" Seth, of course, sounded cheery as ever.

"Miserable, could you come over to the woods? I wanna have some fun."

"Bad day?" he concluded from my tone.

"You have no idea."

"Be there in five." He hung up and I went downstairs, put on my running shoes and left for the woods, leaving a small note on the kitchen table for Mom and Dad telling them where I was.

I ran, enjoying the cold air entering my lungs with each breath in. It was amazing how good it felt to just _breathe_. Living close to a forest _and_ a beach, I get two kinds of the purest air which I breathe in greedily.

When I arrive to our usual meeting place, a place at which a big rock and huge pine tree met at a change of level between the grounds. The ground suddenly shot up a meter or so and the rock and tree stood in an open place around that ground. It was a good gathering spot, and not too far from any of the werewolves' houses. The ground was scattered with various black spots from the bonfires we held here, some fading, some made a few weeks before.

Seth was already there, of course. A big smile on his face as he leaned against the boulder, shirtless. I raised my eyebrows.

"I know what you look like Seth, no need to show off." He laughed.

"I'm not showing off, shifted only an hour ago, Sam was sensing something strange."

I tensed, nothing 'strange' ever happened here, not since the vampires left. "What was it?"

"A false alarm, I guess, found nothing." He shrugged.

"How about we run the perimeter for a second check?"

"Sure, beat you to the river!" He started running, and I quickly followed, laughing. I breathed in through my nose, catching the scents of the forest and running after Seth, who was taking of his pants while running.

"Gross!" I yelled and averted my eyes. I've seen more than enough naked men in my life, thank you.

A loud howl escaped from Seth, and a barking sound that should've been a snicker. We kept on running, until he finally beat me.

"Not fair, you were at an advantage." I gasped, halting. Seth didn't answer. I saw the hairs on his back stand up and his ears standing at attention. I sniffed the air for something suspicious and quickly found it.

Vampire.

Seth and I looked at each other and nodded. We leaped over the small stream onto the former Cullen territory.

'Stay behind me, Ari. Call to Sam.' Seth whispered in my mind. I nodded, and searched in my mind for the familiar presence of the pack leader.

'Sam, vampire on Cullen land. Me and Seth are checking it out. Send back-up.' Not long after I told Sam, several howls sounded through the woods. Within minutes Embry, Jared and Sam arrived.

'Approach carefully, we don't want it to notice us.' Sam thought to all of us. We followed the scent, the sweet smell getting so clear you could taste it in the air. We ended up at the old Cullen house. All of us halted and listened to the sounds of the woods and the house. We barely breathed.

After a long silence, Sam told us to move in slowly.

'You stay here, Ari.' I frowned at him, but wasn't going to argue. If we made a sound now, the vampire would make it's escape.

I watched my friends walk to the house and break down the door, barking like mad and running around, breaking through the glass walls and furniture that had stayed there.

Only I saw a glimpse of white escape from the house in a flash.

Moving on pure instinct, I followed it.


	4. Unexpected

I ran. As fast as I could. I felt one of my sandals slide off my foot but it didn't slow me down. The vampire was running towards the more populated area in town, probably so we couldn't attack him with people able to see or hear it. I'd heard stories about the vampires. I knew only werewolves could barely keep up with them. I certainly wouldn't be able to. My lungs were already burning and I felt stings in my heart and chest indicating that I was pushing myself too far. But I kept running, and I heard the furious voices of the pack in my mind, telling me to halt, to let them take care of it. Not a chance. I kept running and running and… I lost him. I fell to the floor, exhausted. I laid my head down on the soft dirt and cool moss, and felt myself slip away…

I awoke in my dad's arms, and I still smelt the woods and the earth around me. I wasn't passed out for long, thankfully. I looked up at my father. His brows were knit together, and his nostrils flared as he clenched his jaw. I guess I shouldn't have run after the vampire.

"Dad?"

He ignored me, and I felt him take a deep breath.

"Dad, please. Let me go, I can walk."

He glanced at me, fury in his eyes.

"What you did was very stupid and irresponsible. What would I have done if that leach turned to you and killed you?" I knew he was giving me a sensible argument, but I wasn't about to give in, stubborn as I was.

"I would've been fine! I got my dad's strength." I joked, trying to lighten the mood. He didn't seem any happier. In fact, he just looked even worse.

"You wait until your mother hears about this." I gulped. Mom wasn't angry like Dad could be angry. With Mom, it felt like you couldn't do anything right in those few seconds that she lectured you. A loving mother she was, indeed, but she knew how to keep me from doing whatever the heck I wanted.

I wriggled enough for my dad to get the message and let me go. I landed on the ground with a hard thump and immediately ran to the rest of the pack. I didn't really want to talk to Dad now. I turned to Sam.

"Did you catch him? Did I miss anything good?"

"We followed him for a while, but he was too fast. Jared and Quill are still running after him but Quill informed us a little earlier that his scent is almost completely gone because of the rain. Four of us will be running the perimeter tonight and the next following nights, including your father." I nodded. Of course they would take extra precautions now. Even if this vampire left town, it didn't mean there weren't any other curious vampires around. I looked at Seth, who was looking amused at Paul's direction. I turned to see why and started laughing my ass off. There he was, standing in only his Fruit of The Loom boxers. Now, I would've been used to that by now. But these were white. Combine that with the constant rain… Let's just say that the boxers were becoming more than a little see-through. After I calmed myself down I had enough control to make a joke of his situation, making the pack laugh. Dad still looked grumpy, though._ I get it already Dad! Never should've followed the scary vampire!_ Wanting to have my last moments of fun before being chastised at home by my parents, I grabbed a long stick and poked Paul's behind before putting it in his boxers.

"Looks bigger than the one you have in front." I grinned at him and the pack howled with laughter as Paul blushed and frowned at me. Paul was usually a total bad-ass, but no one could hurt Jacob's little girl, and I was both fully aware of that fact and happy to use it. He took the stick from out of his tighty whities and waved it around at Seth and Brady, who dodged it elegantly. Even though the pack was obviously tense and on edge because of the vampire, we still had a few of the youngsters being able to lighten it up, thank god!

A week passed, and Jackson and I were obviously both done with our relationship. He'd been avoiding me at school and I hadn't had the chance to talk to him. It just wasn't working. And what with the vampire being around and me being grounded, I couldn't go out to go talk to him and end things the right way, which I hated, because every day I stayed away from him, he could send me a text telling me we're over. I want to be the one to break up, preferably in person. Just feels like the right thing to do, since he wronged me, and I didn't wrong him. Or that was from my point of view, at least. I threw a little red stress ball against the wall opposite to my bed, making it bounce onto the ground and flying back to me. It was the only thing I could really do right now, except marking the days with my fingernails on the wall, but that seemed just a little too dramatic. In boredom, I'd even re-dyed my green streaks to black, making my hair look nothing but ordinary. My natural ringlets fell beautifully along my shoulders and back. I praise the lord for my ringlets some days, since they weren't fuzzy and controllable. Normally I would comb through them when my hair was still wet, creating waves in my hair, but today I'd just let them hang there and dry. I moved my shoulders around, which had been tense all morning. I glanced at my watch, seeing it was time to go downstairs and start getting ready for school. I was going to break it off today, no matter how hard he runs from me, I'll run faster. I wore my Joan Jett and The Blackhearts t-shirt and black jeans with combats. People will have a whiplash just by looking at me, for I wore all things girly I could find in my closet yesterday. I smiled at myself in the mirror, tying a knot at the hem of my t-shirt, flashing my toned, flat stomach slightly. I could easily imagine the boys' faces as I walked through school. Mike told me that when they were giving girls a number for their looks in the boys' locker rooms, I got a nine. I was definitely going to get a ten today.

I spotted him right outside school, standing with Lucas, his best bud. The second he saw me, of course, he cocked his head towards the hall and they stalked off together. Why, oh why, is he acting like an eight-year old? I groaned and walked off towards my own class, setting up my stuff before the bell even rang. I hung back in the wooden and very uncomfortable chair and looked out the window. Rows and rows of trees looked back at me, and they reminded me of the pack, the vampire, my father.

Somehow, I always felt some kind of familiarity with the woods, but also some nervousness. Mom had the same. I could guess why. I mean, I wouldn't like to go back anywhere that reminded me of my what I thought to be soul mate. Especially the place where he left you like yesterday's garbage. Mom told me not to hate the guy, and I never really did. If he hadn't left her, I probably wouldn't be here right now. And I like being here. I have good friends, I have a boyfriend to break up with, a great family. The only thing I could hate him for is hurting her, but even now she's happier than when she was with him. Everything has a meaning I guess. Every action is meant to be. Some things are just meant to happen. Him hurting her made sure she had the perfect life. I'd like to believe that all things happen for a reason. Thinking about it all being one big coincidence was just too depressing.

After school, I quickly walked off to Jackson, yanking his jacket and whispering a hard; "Okay, done fooling around, come with me."

I carried him all the way back to the edge of the woods, thinking it was a good place for nobody to hear us. Will he break down and cry? I hope not, although it would be a huge thing for my self-esteem. Would he be mad? Try to hit me maybe? Like that will work!

He didn't stop with me at the edge of the wood though, he went right in, kicking sticks that had fallen on the floor and putting his hands in his pockets. When he finally came to a hold he turned to me, eyes burning with an emotion I could not place.

"I know what's happening here. You're not breaking up with me." I sighed. Great, he wants to go the hard way.

"Yes, I am."

"You're not the one to decide that."

I frowned. "Being one half of this relationship certainly gives me that right. And you've not to tell me what to do."

He stalked towards me, his eyes crunched up in anger. Before I could react, his hands gripped my upper arms tightly and pushed me against a nearby tree.

"What the-" He zipped open my jacket and forced a kiss on my lips. I didn't move, couldn't move. My eyes flew open in shock and met his eyes, open even though he's pushing his tongue into my mouth. I finally regained my strength and struggled against him, but he had a good hold on me, too good. The pack never taught me short distance fighting, since it was my job, if any vampires attacked, to keep them as far away from me as possible. If a vampire came this close, I'd be dead by now. I screamed into his mouth, kicking my knee up to hit his groin but he dodged the attack. I did the only thing I could think of. I bit his tongue and held on when he tried to pull back, waiting till I felt it bleed and I tore the flesh a little. He pulled back, cursing. It gave me a chance to scream.

"Fire!" I yelled, knowing that that was the only thing that got people's attention.

But everybody would be away from school now, and we were too far in for anybody to hear.

A drop of blood fell off his lip and he splashed a little bit of it in my face when he yelled " Keep quiet, bitch!"

His hands went for my t-shirt, ripping it from the hem to the neck, exposing stomach and bra. As he reached forward to rip off my last piece of clothing on my chest, I suddenly saw him stop. My eyes couldn't quite follow what happened, but I could make out a very white fist slap across Jackson's head. Everything went quiet for a second, as I looked down at his body right in front of me, bits of blood still dropping out of his mouth. As I regained my senses, I finally saw the same white hand reaching out to me with a t-shirt. I was shaking. That was too close a call. He could have… I could have been… I took the t-shirt and still in shock, I turned to take off my jack and my ripped shirt to replace it with the one my savior gave me. Feeling light-headed, I leaned against the tree.

"Are you all right?" A melodic male voice asked.

I turned, still breathing hard and gasped when I saw his face.

_Vampire._


End file.
